More Than English Partners
by PiLoSa
Summary: Clare meets Eli and can't help but fall in love with him. The story of a relationship as it grows in an environment filled with violence, jealousy, and death. Follows the storyline of the actual T.V. show but with my little twists.
1. You Have Pretty Eyes

**Chapter 1: ****You Have Pretty Eyes**

**Clare's P.O.V.:**

*CRACK*

I cringed at the sound of my _very_ expensive glasses breaking into tiny, little pieces under the tire of a… _hearse_? What was a hearse doing at Degrassi? Did someone die? No. No one died, Clare, or else you would have heard about it. Then… what was it doing. Here. In the parking lot. Of Degrassi Community School?

Then I heard the door of the hearse open and close. A pair of black combat boots walked over to the car's front left tire and picked my crushed glasses off the ground. He held them out to me and said, "I think they're dead." I looked up quickly. I was just staring at the place where my very, _very_ expensive glasses were shattered in shock, in a trance almost. I expected a creepy, old, and ugly man with a chainsaw holding my very, very, _very_ expensive glasses in his hand. Ugh! Clare, just get over it. They weren't that expensive! Instead I saw completely the opposite of what I was expecting. I saw a boy around my age clad in all black with a very cute smirk on his face. No chainsaw in sight!

I took the glasses from him and examined them closely to see if they were even remotely repairable. No chance. They snapped in three places. I looked back up at the mysterious boy and noticed that he had pale green eyes that were almost hypnotizing. I could see them almost hidden by his dark brown, almost black, shoulder-length hair. I forced myself to look away from his eyes, but I didn't want to.

"It's okay. I umm…" I stuttered, why was he making me so nervous? "I got l-laser eye surgery." He leaned closer to me. Is he going to kiss me? Of course not, Clare, you just met him! It would be completely uncalled for if he just kissed me without spending five minutes with me! "You have pretty eyes," he stated while leaning back out.

Wow! I don't get complimented often, even after my summer transformation. I changed my hair, my wardrobe, my eyes. It took me by surprise and I looked down blushing. This boy was making me blush! "Thanks. I'll, uh, see you around?" I tried to ask firmly but instead I made it sound like a question. _Smooth_, Clare. Very smooth. He smirked when I said this and said, "Guess you will." He got back in his car, or erm, hearse and drove away. I just stared at it as it was disappearing out of sight.

"Clare? Clare. CLARE!" I got startled by the sound of my name. I looked around trying to find where the voice was coming from when I saw Alli standing next to me with a huge grin on her face. Was she there the whole time? Oh yeah. She was the one who practically threw my glasses into the street. How could I have forgotten she was there? "Clare. I've seen that look before," she pointed out. "What are you talking about?" I asked even though I already knew what she meant. "_That_ look," she said bouncing on the balls of her feet, "You so completely like him, don't you? Huh? Huh?"

I blushed again. She was right, but I would never admit that to her right now. "No I'm not. I just met the guy." "Mhmm," she said not believing me, "whatever you say!" There was a pause as we continued walking towards our houses. We always walked together before and after school.

"Clare, I'm really sorry about your glasses," she told me worriedly. I guess she expected me to be mad because it kind of _was_ her fault my glasses died. Died? I never said things like that! Where was this coming from? Before I could ponder over this further I heard Alli say, "I can pay for them if you want! I have some money saved up in-." "No, Alli, it's okay, really," I said reassuringly. She sighed in a relieved way and continued looking forward as we walked. I took one last look at my glasses and threw them away in a nearby trash can. One day I'll have to thank her. Now there's no reason for me to go back to the "Old Clare" and hide my "pretty eyes." I blushed again at that thought. I think this year is going to be full of surprises.

**Next chapter is when they meet again in English! This is before they are assigned to be partners! Can't wait to write it! Thanks for reading and please rate and review! Mua! Mua! Love you all!**

**- Pi. Lo. Sa.**


	2. Please, Call Me Eli

**Chapter 2: Please, Call Me Eli**

**Eli's P.O.V.:**

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-*

I slammed my hand on the alarm clock sitting on top of the nightstand next to my bed. It was finally quiet. I sat up on my bed as I yawned and stretched my arms out. I looked down at the glowing red numbers on the clock. 7:30. I groaned. Today was a school day wasn't it? Slowly I left my bed and walked over to the bathroom adjacent to my bedroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face I headed towards my closet.

Let's see, what should I wear today? How about something different. Like maybe something, I don't know, black? Of course every piece of clothing I owned was black or gray. I chuckled at myself as I grabbed whatever I could reach and put them on. I examined myself in my full-length mirror. Looking sexy, as usual. Looking at myself with one last smirk I grabbed my keys to my hearse and bounded downstairs.

As I was closing the front door I saw my dad sprawled over the couch in the living room with a beer bottle in hand, obviously drunk, _again_. I let out a sigh as I got into the driver's side of Morty, my hearse and most prized possession. After school I'll be sure to go through another brutal beating from my drunken dad, as I did almost every day. I put the keys in the ignition and the engine roared to life. Loud screamo music blared out of the speakers of the car. Even if the music was loud it always calmed me down, ironically. After taking one last look at the hell hole I called a home, I drove off to Degrassi Community School.

I pulled up in the parking lot and parked my car near the front of the school. I glanced at the clock in my car. 8:37. Ha. Well, I guess I'm late again. Aw, _rats_! I smirked and got out of my hearse. As weird as it may be to have a hearse as my choice of transportation, I was always fond of it. I loved it ever since my grandfather, Mortimer, gave it to me. Out of respect I named the hearse after him, Morty. I locked Morty and walked up the steps of Degrassi with my backpack over one shoulder. As I suspected, the halls were empty. I went to my locker and put in the combination. After a few seconds my padlock clicked open and I got my things out of my locker. I closed it and headed off to English.

I opened the door right when Ms. Dawes, the 11th grade English teacher, was in the middle of a lecture. Everyone turned to look at me as I closed the door. I looked around at all of the faces staring at me. They're all just so… boring looking. Then I came across a familiar pretty face. She had short, curly hair. I remembered her. I ran over her glasses, but I never caught her name. Ever since that moment in time I could not stop thinking about her. She just seemed so interesting.

Once our eyes met, she looked down quickly, a rosy color coming to her cheeks. I smirked. I guess my good looks have a big effect on her. Oh, Eli, you cocky bastard.

"Well. Nice of you to join us, Mr. Goldsworthy. Since you're new here I'll only give you a warning this time. Next time, however, you will receive a detention. I take tardiness very seriously, and I-." I mentally cut her off there. Damn, why is she all pissed off? When I saw her lips stop moving, I replied, "Sorry, Ms. Dawes. Promise it won't happen again." After a brief silence Ms. Dawes said, "Alright, Elijah, you are forgiven. Take any available seat." "Please, call me Eli." I smirked. My charm has yet to fail me. I took the empty seat closest to the door, which just happened to be right in front of Blue Eyes. I needed to find out her name soon, but until then I'll just call her Blue Eyes.

I turned around in my seat and found her looking back at me. Was she staring at the back of my head? I smirked. Am I really _that_ gorgeous? "Hey, Blue Eyes, sorry about your glasses," I said to her. "It's okay, really," she replied. She had a sweet voice, almost like music. Not screamo music, but like a smooth kind of tune.

"What's your name?" I asked. "I-I'm Clare," she said. Clare. Hmm, it suits her. "That's a pretty name, Clare, almost as pretty as you are," I told her, turning my charm up a notch. "Th-thanks, um, Elijah," she said looking down. She was blushing again. I like how I was affecting her so much. "It's Eli," I said. "Okay, well… thanks, Eli." I smirked again. I opened my mouth to say something else, but I was interrupted by an angry Ms. Dawes. "Would you like to share with the rest of the class what you were talking about with Ms. Edwards? I don't suppose you were talking about English, were you?" "Not at all. I was just about to tell Clare how beautiful she is," I retorted with a smirk, not turning around. I winked at Blue Eyes after I stated my defense. Clare blushed again and looked down at her shoes. "Well, Mr. Goldsworthy, I think you should save the flirting for _after_ class. Now please pay attention," said Ms. Dawes. I faced the front of the class. The teacher continued rambling on and on about something that I really care nothing about.

The whole period I was thinking about Clare. I wasn't flirting with her, was I? I pondered over this and decided. Yeah, I _was_ flirting. I mean, why shouldn't I? She's gorgeous. I can just say two words and she would automatically blush. I liked that. It was… cute. I just colored my nails with a black Sharpie until I heard the dismissal bell ring. I saw Clare rush past me and out the door. I stared after her. I smirked and got up out of my seat and headed towards my locker. English was always my strongest subject. It just came easily to me. So it kind of made classes boring. But this year, I think I might enjoy English class… if I got to know Blue Eyes a little better.

**Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! I love feedback! Tell me your opinions! Don't be shy! All the comments help me be a better writer! Love you guys lots! Mua! Mua!**

**-Pi. Lo. Sa.**


	3. He Is Just So Ugh!

**Chapter 3: He Is Just So Ugh!**

**Clare's P.O.V.:**

"Ms. Dawes… there must be some sort of mistake. I've never gotten a C," I argued aloud as I got my English paper back, "How could this happen?" I stared back at my paper in utter shock. A C? That's impossible! I never get C's! I'm a straight-A student! I've barely gotten two B's before.

"Well, your early assignments were divine, but recently your writing has become… distant, impersonal," she answered me. At a loss for words, I tried to figure up something to convince her that I deserved at least a B. "But I used complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary," I reasoned. God, oops sorry, Lord. I must sound like a total prude. I bet Eli is rolling his eyes at me right now. Wait, why am I even thinking about him right now? I'm in a crisis!

"Yes, but your assignment didn't tell me anything about who you are, what you want. You can't hide behind vampire fiction forever," Ms. Dawes told me in a way that said, "and that's final." I heard a chuckle come from the person sitting in front of me. I glared at the back of Eli's head. Feeling defeated, I said, "I'm not hiding." If I can't defend my writing, I might as well defend myself.

"Then prove it… to your writing partner," Ms. Dawes said while pointing at Eli. Eli looked up from his Sharpie-ed nails and asked disbelievingly, "Me?" I sighed. How am I supposed to improve my writing when this gorgeous guy is correcting my work? "Yeah, you. You write well, but you're a… little wordy," she paused, "You and Clare will be editing each other's work this semester."

After processing this information in my brain I said sarcastically, "Great. That'll be fun." "We may have a very special partnership in our hands, people," said Ms. Dawes excitedly. I rolled my eyes. I usually had a lot of respect for my teachers, but right now I was annoyed at Ms. Dawes. How dare she tell me my writing was no good! Well… I guess she knows best. I mean she _is_ the teacher. But I'm still irritated.

"Like Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes!" Ms. Dawes continued. "Sylvia Plath killed herself," I said monotonously. The rest of the class talked and giggled amongst themselves when I said this, probably surprised that I even questioned a teacher's judgment. Eli turned around then and said to me, "So, Clare." I blushed when he said my name. Why was I so shy around him? I'm not usually shy around boys. Why was he so different? Well, not for the obvious reasons like his all-black wardrobe and hearse. But he just seemed so… interesting, not like all of the other guys at Degrassi. They all pretty much acted the same, acting stupid and childish. But Eli was sort of mature, I guess. Like Edward Cullen and his centuries of culminated knowledge of the world. There I am drifting to vampire fiction again. Maybe Ms. Dawes is right, as much as I hate to admit it, I do need to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and break out of my shell.

"I guess we'll be spending a lot of time together this year," he said with a smirk. "We're only partners for _this_ semester. We'll probably never talk after that," I stated smartly. "We'll see," he said with a wink as he turned back towards the front of the classroom. I momentarily froze in my seat. The last time he winked at me I did the same thing, so paralyzed by his charm. I couldn't concentrate the rest of the period, I just couldn't. My mind just kept going back to one subject, Elijah Goldsworthy.

I got startled when the dismissal bell rang, marking the end of English. I noticed almost everyone had already left. There was just Eli and me. I got out of my seat and headed out of the classroom. As I was about to exit through the doorway, Eli rushed past me. We were stuck in the doorway for a second until he pulled himself past me. He looked back at me as he was walking away, smirking and shaking his head. I just stared after him. How rude! I saw Alli nearby and walked up to her. "He is just so… _ugh_! You know?" I vented.

"I get it, Clare, you're in love with Eli," Alli told me knowingly, "but can we talk about something more important. Like how I can get Drew's attention." I looked at the place where she was staring and saw a guy with a bunch of girls around him. He was okay-looking, I guess. Kind of cute, but in a normal, boring way. But Eli… he was _very _good-looking, in a different way. I suppose it's kind of weird that I would be attracted to someone who was the complete opposite of me. He is someone my parents might never approve of and what some people would look down upon. Maybe that's why I'm starting to lo- I mean _like_ him. I can't be in love yet! I _just_ met him!

"Ever since I laid eyes on him, I knew we were meant to be," Alli continued. "Uh, have you ever even talked to him?" I asked. "You can't just talk to a guy like that, Clare. You have to have strategy," she told me, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I never believed in love at first sight, but maybe, just this once, I'll make an exception. And maybe, I'll take Alli's advice and have a real conversation with Eli. With a little strategy, I think I could make something happen.

**Thank you so much for reading! Please rate and review! I know I just updated Chapter 2 today, but I just couldn't wait for tomorrow to add Chapter 3! I hope you guys liked it! Love you all! Mua! Mua!**

**-Pi. Lo. Sa.**


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